Johnston Canyon Trail to Upper Falls

Johnston Canyon Trail to Upper Falls is a 3.1 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Massive, Alberta, Canada that features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

DISTANCE

3.1 miles

ELEVATION GAIN

774 feet

ROUTE TYPE

Out & Back

dogs on leash

kid friendly

birding

hiking

nature trips

snowshoeing

walking

forest

views

waterfall

wildlife

snow

With over one million visitors per year Johnston Canyon is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Banff National Park.
The lower falls is very powerful and can be approached via footbridge and pedestrian tunnel, while the upper falls is highest and can be taken from a platform at the base or top of the falls.

Michelle R.

Arrive extra early to get a parking spot in the lot, otherwise you’ll have to park along the road and walk in. It’s extremely busy and populated. Its become more of a tourist spot. It’s a very easy trail, good to do with kids or the family. There is a “hidden” cave which is fun to find and explore.

Pretty easy hike the hardest part was avoiding crowds. We arrived just before 9 and got a good parking space. If you are trying to do photography I would highly recommend arriving around 8 to avoid crowds.

Sooo crowded! Not a nature hike. So many people we could barely walk. Do not take dogs for this same reason. Maybe if you when at 6am it would be cool but with a fence and a paved trail it was not my kind of hike. Many other options in Banff.

The amusement park of hikes. Grandparents, toddlers and even people in dress shoes standing in line to get to the end of the platform to snap a pic and leave. We arrived at 4 pm to easy parking, but the trails were still very crowded. It was better when we left after 6 pm, so if you don't want to rise at the crack of dawn, try an evening visit. The crowds really do detract from the beauty of the surroundings. Some unmarked trails to the river were the highlight of the trip and the only reason the rating wasn't lower.

Narrow path the whole way, highly recommend to go in the early morning or late evening to beat the crowd. I went at 530pm and there was at least 20 people in line waiting to get a picture at the lower falls, upper falls wasn't as bad. Be sure to check out the cave inbetween the upper and lower falls not many people go down there. Other than the traffic of people this time of year it's a great park to see with friends and family.

Beautiful trail but negative side is crowded... avoid weekends. I have been hiking for a while first time I noticed people on this trail are rude and don’t move to side for faster pace hikers. Most people on this hike for photos

We arrived at the trailhead at 8:00 and there wasn’t that many people there yet - maybe 30 cars in the P1 lot. Hardly anyone on the trail at that time and we had the cave area just below the upper falls all to ourselves for about 15 min. By the time we made it to upper falls, the trail was jammed. Like others have pointed out, highly recommend starting as early as you can. Beautiful hike and the cave area is awesome.

I had never seen a trail this busy till I did this one. There were too many people unto the lower falls. Later the crowd started thinning out as we header for the upper falls. Had to wait in a line to get closer to get a view of the falls.

Charanya R.

1 month ago

Such a pretty hike! The hike is along the water throughout, great views! The lower falls was the best, especially when you can get up close to the waterfalls! Although you can't get very close to the Upper falls, Upper falls overlook is worth the extra climb.

It was a beautiful hike, with beautiful views! The bugs were not bad at all, and there was so much to explore. My friend and I went past the ink pots and farther into the open valley, there were foot prints but we didn’t see anyone, it was very quiet and peaceful, it was my favourite part of the hike. I highly recommend this trail!

Great walk for any ages! Only walked to upper falls due to limited time. Awesome walking along the walk ways built into the side of the canyon. Can be extremely hard to park, recommend avoiding on weekends and try to arrive as early as possible to try beat the crowds. Well worth the visit!